Hogarth, February 9, 2016.
Three Stars
Jacobson’s novel is the second in the Hogarth Shakespeare
series, following Jeanette Winterson’s 2015 release, The Gap of Time. In this novel, Jacobson gives us a retelling of
Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice,
in which he considers contemporary questions about Jewish identity, expressed
through the infamous character of Shylock.
The original Merchant
explored issues of family, anti-Semitism, and most importantly – revenge. In
this retelling, Shylock is still insistent on getting his “pound of flesh,” but
at the same time, he is contrasted with a present-day art dealer named
Strulovich, who sees his daughter’s love for a “Nazi” footballer as a betrayal
of the family’s faith. Strulovich’s outrage mirrors the original Shylock’s, who
felt betrayed by his own daughter’s rejection of her Jewish upbringing. Jacobson
himself is also Jewish, and he considers Merchant
to be Shakespeare’s most troubling play, in regards to faith.
Jacobson is clearly talented and he certainly does
justice to Shakespeare’s intentions – however, I couldn’t identify with the
characters and had trouble becoming immersed in the novel. Much of the action
takes place as a monologue – Strulovich’s reflection on Jewishness with the ghost
of Shylock past. Jacobson does give Shylock more of a voice than he had in the
original play, which allows him to further express his motivations, and thus he
becomes a well-rounded character.
Shylock is My
Name is much more faithful to the original characterization
than Winterson’s Gap of Time, and I would
have liked to see more of Shylock/Jacobson taking off down his own path, but I suppose
that’s the purpose of the Strulovich character – to do and say what the
original Shylock did not. I personally much preferred Winterson’s adaptation of
Shakespeare, but it’s probably better to view the two novels in isolation, as
it’s an unfair comparison. Yes they are part of a series, but they stand
completely alone, with very different intentions by each author.
This is ultimately a novel of ideas, with little in
the way of plot or action. It’s not a page-turner, but the reader is left with
plenty to think about. I think it’s best to have a refresher of the original play
before undertaking this novel, as it will add a lot to the experience. This
wasn’t my favourite so far in the series, but I’m looking forward to the next
one!
I received this novel from Hogarth and Netgalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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